


The Cry That Kills

by orphan_account



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-11-14
Updated: 2011-11-14
Packaged: 2017-10-26 01:45:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,337
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/277235
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Gentlemen (from Buffy the Vampire Slayer's "Hush", episode 4x10) invade S.H.I.E.L.D. HQ.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Cry That Kills

**Author's Note:**

> written for [this prompt](http://avengerkink.livejournal.com/1854.html?thread=685886#t685886) at the LiveJournal [avengerkink](http://avengerkink.livejournal.com/) community

Tony wakes up with no voice. He groans, soundless, and tosses the covers near the end of the bed so he can start his day. Steve is already downstairs and has been for some time, judging by the cool sheets on the other side. The shower goes part way to waking him up and he figures coffee will take care of the rest. It'll be a pain to go without giving commands to JARVIS, but he handled it once in his early 30s after a bout of laryngitis, so it won't be too different. He'll stay indoors, design some new weapons and watch television.

Tony gets downstairs and stares at everyone else. What are they doing here? It doesn't matter, Tony's only grateful they're being quiet in deference to his massive hangover. He pours himself a cup of coffee, topping up Steve's offered cup when it's waved in his face. Tony points to his throat and shakes his head. The blond man frowns and points to his throat as well. All right, this is a very weird coincidence.

He snaps his fingers and the other Avengers gathered in the kitchen turn to look at him. Well, Natasha glares but that's not unusual. Tony again points to his throat and makes a questioning face. Bruce nods and goes back to reading the paper. Tony snickers at Thor's horrified face and Steve jabs his elbow into his side.

Natasha and Clint are busy using hand signals to communicate. Tony watches with interest as the marksman grabs a napkin and pen, beginning to write something down.

I HAD A DREAM, A LITTLE GIRL WAS SINGING

Tony mouths 'what the fuck' along with the redhead when Clint shows the group. Clint narrows his eyes at them and continues writing, tip almost tearing through the paper.

CAN'T EVEN SHOUT  
CAN'T EVEN CRY  
THE GENTLEMEN ARE COMING BY  
LOOKING IN WINDOWS  
KNOCKING ON DOORS  
THEY NEED TO TAKE SEVEN  
AND THEY MIGHT TAKE YOURS  
CAN'T CALL TO MOM  
CAN'T SAY A WORD  
YOU'RE GONNA DIE SCREAMING  
BUT YOU WON'T BE HEARD

Tony's eyebrows raise at the scrawled words. He has a bad feeling this is probably related to Clint's recently-discovered aptitude for magic. Thor seems to have the same idea because he pulls out his cell phone. The god dials and they all hear the ringing before it sinks in that it's pointless.

Natasha stands abruptly from the table, leaving the room for the hallway. The others decide to move into the living room and Bruce turns on the tv. The news ticker at the bottom informs them that all of New York City is experiencing a nasty voice-stealing case of laryngitis; Tony rolls his eyes at the idiocy of the collective mass media outlets as the camera switches to a live reel of a voiceless reporter in the middles of Times Square.

The woman returns with her laptop as Thor continues pressing buttons on his cell phone with Bruce looking over his shoulder. Tony sits next to Natasha, Clint on her other side and they watch mutely as she hacks into S.H.I.E.L.D.'s camera surveillance system. It seems the Avengers is handling the latest problem quite well, if the agents running around on the screen are any measure of the rest of the city's population. Clint straightens up as a group of strangers make their way through the lobby, dressed like it's Halloween even though it's March. The four aliens – they clearly aren't mortal, since they're hovering above the ground and their faces are more demonic mask than human – seem to zero in on one agent in the corner. They surround the man, walking him to a deserted hallway and into an interrogation room.

Some quick typing from Natasha and they have the scene. Three of the aliens are placing him on the table as the fourth opens the satchel that's over its shoulder. The Avengers watch in horror as the aliens grasp the agent's flailing limbs and let the fourth cut into his chest. The man's mouth moves without sound, pain and terror written on his face as he dies.

The others in the lobby don't realize anything is amiss. Tony curses wordlessly as Thor bangs his fist on the coffee table. At the same moment, Loki appears in the room. He spreads his hands out in a gesture of good will while Clint and Natasha level guns at him immediately. (Tony doesn't want to know where they were stored.) Thor is beaming on his end of the couch and his poking at the mobile makes sense.

Loki drags a finger through the air, words shimmering in green between the god and the seated group. He explains that these are beings from another realm and only feed every decade on exactly seven human hearts. Tony shares a panicked look with the other humans in the room.

Natasha's face quickly snaps back down to the laptop screen and Steve closes his eyes. Tony doesn't need to watch to know that S.H.I.E.L.D. has just lost another agent. Loki writes more words, drawing their attention quickly. Tony grabs his phone to communicate with the god when he tells them that a human scream can break the aliens' feeding.

 _Any type of scream?_ He texts, smirking. It's been a while since he's had to communicate with JARVIS through a keyboard, but Tony is just grateful he hasn't removed that option like he was thinking about doing last month. Loki nods when he reads the words. Tony's smirk grows wider and he plucks Natasha's computer from her lap, settling against the couch.

It takes long minutes of typing as the group stares at him. Tony's interrupted from scrolling through all of JARVIS' saved audio files by the elevator chime. The humanoid aliens float out of the car, followed by two crazed-looking men dressed in straightjackets. Tony typed faster as Thor and Steve ran for their hammer and shield, ignoring the way Bruce was growing bigger and greener to his left. He looked up when a flash of green from Loki's hands went over his head, his eyes then drawn to Clint's open mouth as he screamed at Tony without a voice. Tony could imagine the words though.

Tony found the audio file he wanted and remotely connected the television speakers to the laptop's volume as Natasha engaged one of the hunched over creeps in hand to hand. Without warning, Steve's scream of passion has the instantaneous effect of exploding the aliens' heads. They all stop fighting as the bodies of the four aliens and their two goons crumple to the floor.

“Excellent work, Tony!” Thor booms, louder than normal. He puts a hand to his throat and beams. “And thank you brother, for coming so quickly to our aid!” Loki waves him off.

“Don't mention it.” He glares at all of them. “No, really, don't.” He disappears in the next moment as Tony finds the courage to look directly at Steve.

“On a scale of one to ten, how mad are you?” Steve sighs loudly as Clint chuckles. The Hulk stands behind him, rapidly shrinking to the familiar form of Bruce. Tony gives his lover his best impression of puppy dog eyes.

“You saved all of New York City, Captain,” Clint pats Steve's shoulder between fits of laughter. “You should be proud!” Natasha grips his arm in the next minute and pulls him out of the room. Bruce and Thor follow quickly, then it's just Steve and Tony left.

“I'm far from pleased that you recorded us, Tony.” Steve's voice is disappointed and Tony's stomach sinks.

“But it came in handy!” He protests, waving an arm at the alien bodies to his left. Steve nods, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Don't you ever do it again.” He stares at Tony. “Ever.” The billionaire nods and lets Steve see him delete the audio file. Steve smiles, one of amusement and Tony gives a hesitant grin back.


End file.
